La Revue du praticien
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Arterial dissection results from bleeding into the vessel wall. Some cases are associated with cervical trauma or have evidence of an underlying vascular disease; many occur without any history of injury or detectable arterial disease. Among the cervical cephalic arteries, the extracranial segment of the internal carotid artery is the vessel most commonly involved; intracranial carotid dissections are much rare. ⋯ Normalization or improvement of the vascular abnormalities during the subsequent weeks is frequent and is an excellent argument in favour of the diagnosis. Although no controlled trial has ever been performed, anticoagulant treatment is often used for a few months when the dissection involves the extracranial segment of the carotid artery. No standard treatment of intracranial carotid dissection has emerged.